When

When
the islands aren’t hosting the World Pilot Gig
Championships, life here ambles at a slow speed. Giant granite
cairns guard white-sand bays. Wild seals pop whiskered heads
through floating carpets of mermaid’s tresses and lounge on the
rocks, flippers resting on their rotund bellies. Just five of the
145 islands that make up the Scillies are inhabited, the rest are a
playground for the seals, puffins and gannets.

While the Isles of Scilly might appear like a rural idyll of
stone houses and white picket fences, a different story unfolds
offshore. The sea surrounding the islands is an enormous, watery
cemetery for over 500 ships. The 16th-century Garrison Walls on St
Mary’s, once a vast defence system against the Spanish Armada, now
harbours a luxury hotel and vineyard. Bizarrely, the seemingly
peaceful Isles of Scilly were (technically) still at war with the
Netherlands until very recently. The 335-year war began during the
17th-century English Civil War and, although there wasn’t a single
casualty or shot fired, it only officially came to an end when the
Dutch ambassador came to the islands to sign a peace treaty in
1986.

The Scillies are easy to reach for a weekend, being just 15 or
20 minutes from Cornwall by helicopter or plane respectively. For a
slower journey and the chance of seeing dolphins, catch the
Scillonian ferry from Penzance (2 hours 45 minutes). In spite of
the islands’ accessibility, you’ll have no problem in finding a
picture-perfect beach to yourself, even in high season. We’ve
boarded ships tall and small, combed the coastline and consumed
outrageous amounts of Cornish ice cream to bring you our highlights
of the archipelago.